Independent journalism on UK fracking, onshore oil and gas and the reactions to it

INEOS submits first bid for shale gas well

INEOS has confirmed that it submitted its first planning application for a shale gas well in the UK yesterday.

The proposal is for a well at Bramleymoor Lane, in the village of Marsh Lane, near Eckington, north Derbyshire.

INEOS said the application does not include hydraulic fracturing or pressure testing. The proposal is described as a hydrocarbon exploratory core well and is designed to take samples of rock to test for their gas-producing properties.

The details will not be published until the application has been validated by Derbyshire County Council.

Validation of the application

Opponents of the plans have argued that the application should not be validated because there is a dispute over whether it needs an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

Derbyshire County Council decided in February 2017 that the application did not need an EIA. But at least three individuals and organisations have challenged that decision by appealing to the Communities’ Secretary, Sajid Javid. INEOS has also confirmed that it has asked Mr Javid to rule on the issue.

The Department for Communities and Local Government told DrillOrDrop there would be no ruling on the EIA until after the general election on 8 June.

Derbyshire County Council said today that its legal department had advised that the application could be validated and a public consultation could go ahead before the ruling by the Communities’ Secretary on the EIA.

But a spokesperson added that the council would have to wait for the ruling before deciding whether or not to grant planning permission.

Sign on Bramleymoor Lane, 26 April 2017. Photo: DrillOrDrop

INEOS’s plans for Marsh Lane have prompted opposition locally. Eckington Parish Council, which includes the site, has said it will object. Nearby Dronfield Town Council approved a motion last week (2 May 2017) opposing fracking and expressing what it called “very serious concerns” over the proposed lorry route to Bramleymoor Lane site (link).

No one is suppressing you as everyone is well aware but what we are doing is annihilating your opposition through our democratic system.
If you don’t want fracking you have the ability to vote Corbyn who has consistently said he will not allow it.

COMPENDIUM OF SCIENTIFIC, MEDICAL, AND MEDIA FINDINGS DEMONSTRATING RISKS AND HARMS OF FRACKING
(UNCONVENTIONAL GAS AND OIL EXTRACTION) Fourth Edition, 17th November 2016
Some 200 plus pages of evidence mainly from the USA, Canada and Australia concluded (p209) that, “All together, findings to date from scientific, medical, and journalistic investigations combine to demonstrate that fracking poses significant threats to air, water, health, public safety, climate stability, seismic stability, community cohesion, and long-term economic vitality. Emerging data from a rapidly expanding body of evidence continue to reveal a plethora of recurring problems and harms that cannot be averted or cannot be sufficiently averted through regulatory frameworks.There is no evidence that fracking can operate without threatening public health directly or without imperiling climate stability upon which public health depends”.http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/fracking-compendium-4.pdf

Is that the “legitimate” opposition that sees twelve people arrested at PNR on Monday?

What is legitimate opposition? Some would claim it is suicide bombers. Others (eg. N. Korea) would claim no opposition is legitimate.

My definition is that if it is against the law of the land, if it is antisocial and imposed upon the rest of the community, and it is based upon fake science and information it is unlikely to be legitimate as far as the community as a whole is concerned. But then, the arena was legitimate to the Romans and the Christians would just have to put up with their viewpoint, and the inconvenience. They declined and fell, as well.